PPL suing National Park Service

Allentown power company has been at odds with feds over new, high-voltage line from Luzerne County to New Jersey.

August 14, 2010|By Riley Yates, OF THE MORNING CALL

PPL Electric Utilities Corp. is suing the federal government, seeking permission to trim vegetation along a power line in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

The federal lawsuit, filed by a subsidiary of PPL Corp. of Allentown, against the National Park Service says blackouts or forest fires could occur if the company isn't allowed to prune or remove trees and other vegetation along a 11/2-mile stretch of the recreation area near Bushkill Township.

"It's unfortunate that we have to take legal action, but this line is a critical part of the electric grid," said David Schleicher, PPL vice president for transmission, in a written statement.

The suit comes as the Allentown utility and the National Park Service have been at battle over a proposed new, higher-voltage line from Susquehanna in Luzerne County to Roseland, N.J. The massive upgrade is being sought by PPL and its counterpart in New Jersey, but its potential routes have been controversial.

PPL spokesman Paul Wirth said Saturday the suit is unrelated to the larger dispute. It was filed after four months of negotiations failed to yield a settlement, he said.

Efforts to reach park officials Saturday were unsuccessful.

In letters to the company, the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area argued that PPL has not maintained or cleared its right of way for "some decades," resulting in trees of "substantial height that would need to be cleared."

The recreation area also said it was concerned that trimming would come as an assessment is being done on the environmental impacts of the proposed upgrade, which could follow the same right of way.

In the suit, PPL said it has been periodically clearing along the line since it was built more than 80 years ago, including during the 40-plus years since the recreation area was established. Most recently, PPL did so in 2009, 2008 and 2007, the company said.

In April, PPL notified the recreation area it planned to trim, the suit said. Park officials initially denied access, before saying the company likely needed a special permit that would kick in a review under the National Environmental Policy Act — a move PPL claims would be too time consuming.

The suit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and also names John Donahue, superintendent of the recreation area, and Jon Jarvis, the director of the National Park Service.

It is seeking an injunction to allow the trimming to go forward. A hearing is scheduled Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Wilkes-Barre in front of U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo.